MCGEE Thomas Herbert

Petty Officer Thomas Herbert McGee was the son of George and Alice McGee of Yew Tree cottage Harvington. He joined the Royal Navy in 1934 and had married Grace Turner of Feckenham early in 1940.

By 1942, he was serving aboard HMS Worcester an 1120 ton destroyer commissioned in September 1922 based at Harwich. During the summer and autumn of 1941, a major German naval squadron was based in the French port of Brest. However, this port was within range of R.A.F. bombers and subject to frequent attack. Hitler ordered the squadron to return to its home base of Wilhelmshaven in Germany so that it could more easily intercept convoys on their way to Russia via the west coast of Norway. The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) wanted to sail west and north through the Denmark Strait between Greenland and Iceland. Hitler himself ordered the fleet to sail the shortest route through the English Channel. This it must be said was audacious to the point of being suicidal. The operation, code named Cerberus after the three-headed dog, which guards the gate to Hades in Greek mythology, was put into practice at 21.15hrs. on the 11th February 1942. Three large warships Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Prince Eugen and six escorting destroyers left Brest and escaped detection for more than twelve hours assisted by faulty British radar and bad weather. They were finally sighted off Beachy Head and were engaged by the coastal batteries at Dover, these proved largely ineffective because bad weather made visual sighting of the fall of shot difficult, and the ships were obviously steaming at maximum speed. A small Royal Navy fleet of destroyers was at the time engaged in gunnery practice in the North Sea and sailed to engage. They were no match for the German fleet and HMS Worcester was severely damaged. The German fleet reached Wihelmshaven mid-morning on the 13th February 1942.

Thomas McGee died on the 12th February 1942 aged 26 and is buried at Shotley Gate cemetery near Harwich. His father had died in 1928 from the effects of his service in the First World War.

The following information is courtesy of Jade Dawson:
Thomas McGee’s wife Grace was expecting their child when he died. She gave birth to a son, Gordon Herbert McGee. Gordon had 4 children, he is Jade’s grandfather.